


Hide and Seek

by escape2020



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alpha Kylo Ren, Alpha Rey, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - 1980s, Blood and Injury, Central Pennsylvania, Chases, F/M, Hunters & Hunting, Industrial wasteland, Knotting, Masturbation, Mating, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mentions of Violence, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Rape/Non-con Elements, Scavenger Rey (Star Wars), Survival, Survival Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 06:27:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28346853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/escape2020/pseuds/escape2020
Summary: Rey is an alpha who has spent her life on her own, traveling through abandoned, industrial waste to salvage scrap metal in order to make ends meet. She is used to being strong and in control, but that is all about to change when she meets Kylo Ren, another alpha, and her world is turned on its head. Kylo would like Rey to play his favorite game with him: hide and seek. Both her skills and instincts will be put to the test in this game of survival.Based on the short story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 32
Kudos: 94
Collections: The Chase





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @BerthaMason for beta-reading! <3

Rey sat in the passenger seat of a 1969 Ford F100 and watched rural central Pennsylvania blur by from the two-lane highway. After years of scavenging for valuable scraps of metal, she was well acquainted with cars, at least those that had ended up totaled and piled up in salvage yards. These days, she had honed her skills and knew which parts and metals fetched the highest prices. Gone were the days of lugging around anything she could get her hands on, only to have the mixed bag weighed out as iron -- cheap and heavy. In those days, a cart of her scrap finds piled high would only earn her a few dollars after hours of grueling work. Now, she dealt exclusively with copper, something that was universally valued.

The past few weeks Rey had spent hitchhiking along the railways of Pennsylvania, hopping between stinking, decrepit factory towns and decaying mining communities. This area had been a hub of manufacturing and rail transport for going on two-hundred years, and it continued to be a festering gash on the earth. But it was rife with junkyards and abandoned warehouses, which meant one thing to Rey: copper, and lots of it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the beta who was driving nervously glance in her direction every few minutes. He’d picked her up on the side of the road, not knowing that she was an alpha until she was slamming the door behind her, domineering energy exuding from her, despite such a slight frame. The man, grimey and red-faced, had likely thought her an easy target when he saw her standing on the highway’s shoulder with her arm extended and thumb up, but he couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Take me to the next town,” she’d demanded as she settled into the seat. He had stared and blinked stupidly at her.

“But, there’s nothing there, just a couple of old factories. I could take you to Harrisburg, Miss., if you like.” He stuttered his words out as he took in Rey’s squared-off shoulders and narrowed eyes.

“I’m not  _ going _ to Harrisburg; now take me where I said before I kick you out of this truck and drive there myself.” Her tone brokered no arguments, so the man just nodded as he stumbled over his apologies and continued driving down the highway.

The vehicle rolled to a stop when they reached the center of town, which featured only a general store, a gas station, a pharmacy, and a small, steepled church. Everything was covered in a thin layer of grey soot, probably from the concrete smoke stacks that could be seen billowing from anywhere in the flat town. The air was thick with it too, but Rey stepped out of the truck and inhaled deeply. It was a familiar smell, one that she had grown up with, and she took a small comfort in it. She imagined children on farms felt the same way about the scent of hay or manure, but she’d never been on a farm, or anywhere very green, so she couldn’t be sure. As Rey walked away from the truck down the main street, she threw a few crumpled dollars over her shoulder at the man, not looking behind her to see him on his hands and knees, scrambling to gather them before the wind blew them away.

Her plan was to walk until she found somewhere suitable to scavenge, and then she would stay right there until she had rooted out every ounce of copper. She would usually construct a makeshift shelter in the junkyards to sleep in so that she could keep a close eye on her finds and guard her territory from other alphas, who were often thieves and vagrants in these parts. 

Just as she’d suspected, it didn’t take long to come across an abandoned section of town. A number of old textile mills and machine shops were sprawled out around a rail yard that looked to be out of commission, probably for at least a decade or two. Railroad tracks in a row four-across criss-crossed and branched in different directions, lined on either side by large, dilapidated buildings. The passage of time had tall grasses and scraggly trees sprouting up between the tracks and bursting through the shattered windows of the factory buildings.

Rey knew that she would eventually complete a methodical survey of the area, leaving no stone unturned in her pursuit of valuable copper pipes and wiring, but for now, the first order of business was to find somewhere safe and secluded to camp out. It was not yet evening, but the sky was overcast, breezes rustling the leaves on the trees to indicate an impending storm. Rey set off in the opposite direction of town, venturing deeper into the industrial maze.

As she walked, the sounds of cars and people faded until she could only hear her boots crunching over grass and gravel. Soon, she came upon a small office building that looked relatively structurally intact. She was about to go inside and investigate the integrity of its roof, the most important element with the oncoming weather, when something curious stopped her in her tracks.

With the next gust of wind, there it was again, a scent so light and nearly imperceptible that she might not have caught it had it not been carried right to her on the breeze. Rey opened her mouth slightly and turned to face the direction that it had come from. She closed her eyes to concentrate and was rewarded with the delicate scents of sweet orange blossom, jasmine, and maybe something woody, like patchouli, tickling the roof of her mouth. 

Rey walked using her nose in place of her eyes, stumbling over debris and clamoring over piles of junk in order to take the most direct route to wherever the scent originated. The closer she got, the more sure she was of the source:  _ omega _ . 

After twenty minutes of walking, she was salivating. She wasn’t in rut, but she couldn’t deny her instincts either; an omega nearby demanded her attention. This one smelled so ripe, she dismissed her confusion about why an omega would even be in such a dangerous and isolated location. It didn’t matter, once she found them, she would stake her claim and get them somewhere warm and safe like the good, strong alpha she was. 

Because she was always on the move, Rey didn’t like to keep a harem like some other alphas, but she was good at helping an omega through their heat or settling their tremulous nerves; it scratched a deep, primal itch to play her part in nature. She had to admit though, that was only part of the pleasure. What Rey loved most was the chase and exerting her strength over what she saw as creatures bound to instinct: omegas who mewled helplessly for an alpha to make them whole, to give them a purpose. Rey, on the other hand, used reason to motivate her actions. She chose to pursue omegas that would pose some sort of challenge to her abilities. She loved to sniff out a needy omega and put to use her expert tracking skills, beating out every other alpha to her prize, and immediately marking them with her scent upon capture. 

Just the thought of it all had her picking up her pace, and she broke into a jog. Even as she felt the first fat drops of rain splatter on her face, Rey kept going. When she was presented with an old warehouse in her direct line of sight, she sprinted the rest of the way. The steady rain couldn’t slow her down when she knew what was just inside the building.

Rey had to use her shoulder to force the door open, one of two huge double doors flanked on both sides by square columns. The rusty hinges screamed as she heaved them into motion. The building was huge, the exterior walls lined with tall metal shelving units. It was one giant room, subdivided only by the two rows of rotting, wooden support beams that ran the length of the building. There were large, square windows set high in the walls, close to the ceiling, which would have let light in if they weren’t coated in a thick layer of soot and grime. 

There wasn’t much of the building’s original equipment left, besides the remains of one machine that had been so thoroughly picked apart that its form and function were no longer recognizable. In the center of the long warehouse, the floor was littered with broken planks of wood and shards of glass where the high ceiling had given way. Rain and the last of the day’s light poured in from the gaping hole above, the last obstacle in the way of the omega that practically called out to her. 

She skirted around the veritable waterfall of pouring rain towards a large, dark form in the far corner of the warehouse. As she got closer, she realized it was a mountain of mismatched blankets, pillows, and clothing - a nest. Her omega must be curled up somewhere in there, taking shelter from the storm. 

Rey reached the pile and immediately began ripping it apart in search of its occupant. The scents were overwhelming her at this point, sending her into a frenzied state. When every blanket, pillow, and scrap of soft material had been pulled from the pile, Rey turned in a circle to look around her at the deconstructed nest strewn in all directions. There was no omega here, she realized with an agonized howl that no one would hear, she was sure. Frustrated tears streamed down her face. She had blindly followed a trail, the most enticing she had ever smelled, and turned up painfully empty handed.

With a storm raging all around outside, Rey was stuck here, with the disappointing and destroyed empty nest, at least until the rain let up. Wiping her tears away with the heel of her palm, she set to work safeguarding her find, knowing the enticing scents of this omega would act as a beacon to any other alphas in the area. Rey wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep after what now felt like an exhausting day, but she ventured back out into the rain instead, which the wind now blew to a slant, instantly soaking her. She set about collecting a few items from the nearby scrap piles. She came away with long lengths of wiring, ripped from a toppled street lamp, a few metal rods of various sizes, and the largest rock she could carry. Using these items, she pieced together a feather spear trap, using a blunt object - the rock - in place of a spear. She used the wiring to bind the rock to her longest metal rod and also to attach the rod to one of the columns next to the warehouse’s doors. Then she raised the rod high up so that it was parallel with the top of the doors and bound the end holding the stone to the opposite column. Last, she rigged a tripwire a few feet in front of the doors using the last of her materials. If anyone tried to invade Rey’s new territory, the rock would come flying for their head, and they might not live to see another day.

Gingerly stepping over the tripwire, Rey reentered the warehouse. Just for good measure, she also decided to barricade the doors from the inside. Using all of her remaining strength, Rey pushed the large hunk of disassembled machinery that she’d found inside to rest against the seam of the two doors. Finally satisfied that no other alphas would be able to reach her and the nest while she slept, Rey gathered together a few blankets and curled up, breathing deeply into the fabrics and scenting them along the gland on her neck. In the morning, she could figure out where her nose had led her and where the omega had gone to. They must have been here recently, maybe in the past couple of hours. In the morning, she would find them. The daylight would allow her to evaluate the situation and make a plan. But for now, she let the hammering of the rain on the roof and the sweet, intoxicating scents of the abandoned nest lull her into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: escape_2020_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've updated the tags, but in case it isn't clear, TW: there is talk/imagery of blood and violence of an unnamed character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @BerthaMason for beta-reading! <3

When Rey woke the next day, the rain had finally stopped, leaving a wide, shallow pond in the middle of the warehouse below the damaged ceiling. She was shivering and her back ached from sleeping on the hard floor, but she had a renewed sense of vigor and purpose. She felt more level-headed than the previous day; with a clear sky above and the wiry strength of her body, Rey would track down her omega in no time. 

After pushing her barricade away from the doors and carefully stepping over the tripwire she’d rigged, Rey set off into the abandoned industrial wastes, no longer knowing or caring from which direction she had come. The sun was low in the sky, indicating that it was late in the afternoon, so she moved at a brisk pace, light and nimble on her feet, so that she would reach her target before nightfall. As Rey skirted puddles of spilled engine oil and darted past condemned buildings ready to topple at the next strong wind, she wondered to herself why anyone, let alone a helpless omega, would be out here in the first place. 

Rey quickly picked up the scent trail from yesterday, but soon it became peculiar. The fragrance that had been sweet and delicate became imbued with heavy, desperate anxiety. The trail turned sour when it mixed with the acrid smell of an alpha. Rey slowed down to investigate. The omega’s perfumed essence morphed from sweet orange blossom to the sickly sweet odors of decomposing and fermenting fruit. 

Anxious that someone had found her omega first, Rey opened her mouth to better detect the direction that the new scent was coming from. Immediately, she had to hold back a gag, her stomach heaving at the bitter alpha. She wasn’t sure if the bile she tasted was from the heavy scent wafting in the air or her own stomach acid. Luckily, she had all she needed to find the correct direction. In the distance, Rey could see an old, rusting box truck that had rolled over onto its side and made a beeline for it.

As Rey got closer, she slowed her pace to keep an eye out for any danger that might be lurking on the periphery. She came to a sudden stop when her nostrils flared from the sharp, tangy scent of iron. She scanned the ground until she found a small, rusty brown stain in the gravel. Crouching to get a better look, she scooped up a handful and rolled it between her fingers; it was dry.

Rey chucked the gravel to the ground angrily as she stood back up. Continuing on her path to the toppled box truck, she noted more signs of struggle. There were scraps of ripped clothing, patches of tall grass that looked to be recently flattened as though two people had wrestled there, and more puddles of dried blood that increased in size the closer she got to the truck. 

When Rey finally stood just a few feet away from the overturned truck, she paused once more. Without yet seeing it, she knew that inside of the cargo area would be a disturbing sight. She took a deep breath to steel her nerves, but her head was flooded with the visceral scent of blood, overlaid with the sweet, flowery aroma that she knew to be an omega’s slick. Rey’s stomach flipped nervously, but she forced herself to take a step forward, and then another, keeping her eyes glued to the ground until she stood in front of the open cargo area.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut tightly, lifted her chin, then snapped her eyes open to take in the scene. What she saw made her stagger backwards and almost flee entirely. Inside the truck was a nest, much like the one she had found in the warehouse, but it was filthy. The pillows and blankets that it was made of were saturated in dark red blood, dirt, and shiny, clear slick. The space was filled wall-to-wall with an invisible cloud of pheromones. It smelled of fear and hostility and...arousal? The alpha and the omega’s scents had become muddled in the tight space, so it wasn’t possible to differentiate who had been fearful and who had been aroused. 

In her mind, Rey could see what had played out likely only hours ago. As her eyes traveled around the inside of the cargo area, she could see where the omega was slammed against a wall, leaving a red stain at head level. Bloody handprints were smeared along the next few feet of wall as the struggle ensued. Then, their body had fallen to the ground and was dragged to the nest, a trail of blood mixed with slick as evidence. Clothes that had been torn apart and thrown in all directions now laid crumpled and glued to the floor by the drying body fluids. The omega was nowhere to be seen, but Rey couldn’t decide whether or not that was a good thing. 

After a minute of staring dazed and horrified, Rey ripped herself away and stumbled around the side of the truck to throw up. She fell weakly to her hands and knees, continuing to dry heave forcefully long after the meager contents of her stomach had been expelled. Her eyes watered, either from the bile that burned the back of her throat or the images that had just been seared into her mind. Shakily, Rey rose to her feet and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, then closed her eyes to concentrate and catch the direction of the omega’s trail once again. As soon as she found it, she set off briskly, deliberately keeping her eyes forward, determined to put a great distance between herself and the gruesome scene she had just witnessed.

Dusk came soon after Rey left the truck, but even as the sky darkened, she continued tracking the omega, now with a heightened sense of urgency that she hadn’t had in the morning. Her chest felt tight as she thought about what might greet her at the end of the trail; she hoped she wouldn’t get there too late.

When the sun had passed under the horizon and the sky was a dark, inky blue, Rey saw twinkling specks of light in the distance. At first, she thought they were the stars coming out like little pin pricks in the dark canvass, but as she drew nearer, they glowed larger and looked to be arranged in rows and columns. Had she really walked far enough to reach the next town?

Not a town, but a mansion. Rey broke into a jog. She was starting to lose the scent of the omega, but whoever was inside the mansion could probably help her. They had to be someone of great means to be living there. 

Rey climbed the marble steps to a pair of grand double doors and reached out for one of the heavy metal knockers but hesitated a moment, her hand hovering inches from the door. Why was someone living all the way out here in this wasteland? In the nineteenth century, business owners had lived in extravagant homes on the same land as their mills and factories, unlike today when the rich put a great distance between themselves and their poor workers, but this building was not in any state of disrepair. Whoever was inside was not a squatter in one of Pennsylvania’s many abandoned buildings; they didn’t need to live here - they chose to.

Dismissing the peculiarities of the situation, Rey lifted the door knocker and dropped it against the door, surprising herself at the deep boom that reverberated into the quiet night air. It didn’t matter to Rey why someone was living in this mansion, far from town and other human life. There was an omega in danger, and all that mattered to Rey was finding them and bringing them to safety.

A few seconds later, the door flew open and Rey was confronted by the barrel of a rifle in her face. Behind the rifle was a man with bright orange hair and some sort of military uniform that she couldn’t place. Rey startled backwards, almost falling down the stairs in the process. But once she was a few feet from the rifle, she noticed that the man had almost no scent; he was a beta. For some reason, despite the loaded gun in her face, this was a relief.

“Excuse me sir, I think I might be lost, and I need some help.”

The man stared at Rey through the rifle’s sight. Thinking he might be hard of hearing, Rey took a step forward and raised her voice.

“Excuse me--” she stopped short when he cocked the rifle.

In the background, Rey could hear footsteps echoing on tiles. The sound got louder until another man came into view in the foyer. 

“Hux, you didn’t tell me we have a visitor,” the man called as he approached them. Rey’s nose wrinkled as the abrasive scent of alpha wafted over, but it was obscured partially by a strong cologne. She couldn’t say for sure, but Rey didn’t believe this to be the same alpha as the one who had apparently attacked the omega she was tracking. He looked clean and civilized, not to mention she couldn’t smell the omega in the area anymore. 

“Hello, my name is Kylo Ren, this is my home,” he said with a suave smile, pushing the gun out of your face with one hand and holding out his other for a shake. Rey tried to ignore his offputting smell and extended her hand in turn to shake. She expected she would need his help and didn’t want to come off as rude.

When she grasped his hand, she couldn’t help but notice how his hand swallowed hers. In fact, his entire frame, solidly built, towered over her. He was dressed in a well-tailored suit and had his black, shoulder length hair neatly combed out of his face. His head tilted to the side slightly as he seemed to scrutinize her, though his smile never faltered.

“I’m Rey, it’s nice to meet you. I don’t mean to intrude, but as I was telling your... _ associate _ , I may be a bit lost and I am in need of some assistance.”

“Of course, of course, please come inside.” Kylo stepped aside and gestured to the expansive foyer behind him. “I was just about to sit down for a meal - you must join me.” He turned to face the red-haired man, “Hux, fix up a room for Miss Rey as well.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary, I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense, we’ll have a wonderful meal together and then you’ll be my guest; it’s not often that I have visitors.”

Rey nodded hesitantly but accepted Kylo’s invitation and stepped over the threshold. 

Kylo’s dining room was elegant with vaulted ceilings, crystal light fixtures, and fine china over a white tablecloth. The table had seating for twelve, but Kylo pulled out a chair for Rey and then took the one directly opposite her. Moments later, a butler dressed in a pinstripe suit and black apron came into the room carrying a silver platter with a domed cover. He wordlessly set it on the table and pulled off the lid to reveal a large roasted bird surrounded by quartered potatoes, carrots, and sprigs of rosemary. The butler sliced the meat and served them, then left as silently as he had come.

After Kylo took his first bite, Rey began to eat quietly, keeping her eyes anywhere but her host’s face. This level of hospitality was entirely unexpected and it put Rey on edge. She had hoped Kylo might assist her in tracking down the omega, but this was above and beyond that. No one had ever welcomed her into their home, much less offered her a seat at their dinner table. The alpha in her was tense and bristling, but she did her best to suppress those instincts, knowing that Kylo would have no interest in fighting a female alpha. Her pheromones wouldn’t incite the same feral energy in him that a male alpha’s would. Clearly, he was unperturbed by her presence.

“I suppose you’re wondering what I’m doing living out here in this incredible home,” Kylo said. Rey looked up to see his calculating eyes already studying her.

“Well...yes. It’s very isolated out here, I imagine it takes a very particular type of person to live here and not go mad.”

Kylo chuckled. “I enjoy the solitude. I haven’t always lived here though. My family is in the railroad industry. We were based out in California, but my parents had purchased a few properties out east in the ‘60s, including this parcel that you’ve found yourself on, and they’ve sent me out here to evaluate the market value.”

“Surely this place can’t be worth much. I haven’t been here for very long, but it’s in such disrepair I think you’ll have to raze it all.” Rey normally wouldn’t be so blunt with strangers, but she figured Kylo must not have seen the property yet if he thought there was anything here to evaluate.

“This land is actually highly valuable, to me at least,” he said, with a glint in his eye. “But enough business talk. Let’s have a drink.”

“Oh no, thank you, but I don’t really drink.” Rey had actually never had a sip of alcohol -- never had the money, and now that she had a few dollars to her name, she couldn’t imagine wasting them on a foul tasting drink.

“Really, I insist.”

What could she say? Kylo called for the butler to bring out two Manhattans. Rey wasn’t sure what a Manhattan was, but she figured it must be something that the wealthy, high society people drank. Rey had never been to New York, let alone Fifth Avenue; there wasn’t much junk to salvage there.

When the drinks came out, Kylo raised his in the air. “A toast.”

Following his lead, Rey lifted her drink as well. It was amber colored with cherries and orange peels floating between ice cubes.

“To this wonderful, serendipitous meeting. I’m so glad we ran into each other, Rey, here of all places.” Kylo brought his glass to his lips and took a long sip, so Rey did the same. It tasted strongly astringent, but she could taste hints of the sweet cherry and orange as well. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Something about the way it puckered her mouth and tingled on her tongue made her keep drinking until she was looking at the ice on the bottom of the tumbler.

“Another?” Kylo asked. There was something strange about the way he asked, like he was sitting on the edge of his seat, eager for her answer.

“Yes, thank you, it’s very good.” Kylo just smiled in response and called again for the butler.

“Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself, Rey? What’s an alpha doing all the way out here picking through trash? If your instincts and drive are anything like mine, I’d expect you to be in business or government, somewhere your skills can really shine.”

Another drink was placed in front of Rey; she took a long draw from the glass before answering.

“I’ve always been on my own, as long as I can remember. Never had access to all of  _ this _ \--” Rey waved her hands in the air, gesturing to the room and all of its contents around her. “But I’m not ashamed, I’ve done well for myself,” she said, lifting her chin. “I...reclaim...copper from junkyards and abandoned buildings. Places like this old rail yard are a gold mine for me.”

“I see, so scrap metal is the only reason you’re here tonight?” Kylo asked, raising his brows.

Suddenly, Rey remembered why she was here. How could she have forgotten so quickly?

“I also came looking for help -- your help I guess.”

Kylo nodded to encourage Rey to continue with her request.

“I was scoping out the area yesterday when I caught the scent of an omega. It was strong, so I tried to follow it, but instead of finding them, I came across something rather disturbing. I believe they’re hurt, maybe seriously hurt. I need to finish tracking them, it’s not safe for an omega to be out here alone.”

“Hmm…” Kylo hummed with a serious look on his face. “Yes, I think I know of that omega. Unfortunately, you’ve come too late. She suffered severe blood loss and could not be revived. She was a fighter though, thrashing to get away until the very last.”

Rey froze, her heart hammering in her chest. “What was she running from?”

“What do you think, Rey?”

She sat still and remained quiet, unwilling to voice her answer out of fear. She was starting to feel very jittery, almost flighty, and a little bit itchy.

“I’m like every alpha, Rey, I like an omega to submit to me, but there’s something about the way they struggle and squirm that really makes me want to pin them down. You understand, as an alpha yourself, don’t you?”

Rey nodded numbly. She  _ did _ understand, but she wasn’t interested in hurting omegas -- that didn’t bring her any pleasure.

“I thought so. Back in California, all of the omegas I met were perfectly docile. They just rolled over and let me take them. It was such a bore, when what I really wanted from them was a good chase. Now that I’m here at the old rail yard, I’m having so much more fun.” Kylo paused to take a leisurely sip of his drink. “This is just delicious. Have another drink, won’t you?”

Rey nodded again and drained the last of her glass. It felt like drinking pins and needles now, the liquid leaving tiny abrasions all the way down her esophagus. 

“You see, Rey,  _ alphas _ understand the chase. But that’s no use to me, I can’t mate another alpha.” Kylo wrinkled his nose in distaste. “But what if I could put an alpha’s brain into an omega’s body? Now,  _ that _ would be something, wouldn’t it?”

Rey didn’t know what he was talking about anymore. It sounded like the ravings of a madman. Maybe the isolation really had gotten to him.

“I asked you a question, Rey, so answer me.” Kylo lowered his voice to use a tone she hadn’t heard from him before. It made her sit up straighter and lower her eyes to the table. Rey recognized it as an alpha command, something she had used sparingly in her life, but was helpless to resist, despite her own designation. She opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated as her palate was flooded with a myriad of spicy, mouthwatering flavors. “Yes,” she forced out, compelled to answer him.

“Good, you’ll do just fine.”

Rey furrowed her brows in confusion. “Just fine…?” her voice sounded distant in her own ears.

Kylo ignored her question. “I’ve devised a most thrilling game, I like to call it ‘Hide and Seek’. I take an unsuspecting, able-bodied alpha and dose them heavily with omega pheromones. The transformation takes only minutes to begin and is completed in under an hour.” He paused, “How are you feeling, Rey? You’re looking a bit pale.” He looked concerned, but his tone was slightly mocking. 

She was feeling hot and nauseated, like she was coming down with the flu, or maybe having some sort of allergic reaction to the food. She reached up to her neck, which was fiercely itchy, and found a swollen, inflamed bump at the nape. She couldn’t resist scratching. Kylo smirked at her and went on speaking.

“For you, Miss Rey, the transformation is almost complete. You’re going into heat.”

Her eyes widened. She had finished two full tumblers of the drink. Never having tasted alcohol before, she hadn’t known that it wasn’t supposed to tingle and sting in her mouth.

“It seems you’ve always been on the run, so I think you’ll put on the best chase I’ve had yet. You must be very skilled, very cunning, to have survived this long on the streets. I can’t wait to try you out.” Kylo finished the rest of his drink, obviously not spiked like Rey’s. 

“ _ Hux! _ Take Rey to her room, she’s had an exhausting day,” Kylo shouted towards the doorway. Then he turned his attention back to Rey. “We’ll play for three days. You’ll be supplied with food, clothes, and a knife. At dawn, you may leave my mansion. I’ll give you a lead until dusk and then I will set out to find you. If I catch you, I will mate you, thereby making permanent your new designation.”

Rey could feel herself on the verge of a panic attack. “And if you don’t catch me?” She stuttered. Shock was starting to set in. Could he really be serious? Rey had never heard of alphas being transformed into omegas, but Kylo came from money, a lot of money, and she couldn’t deny the way her body was reacting to the drinks. If it was all true, though, Rey needed to understand the terms that she was being forced into. Kylo was right about one thing -- she was a survivor through and through, but she would need to understand the game in order to win.

“If I don’t catch you by midnight on the third day, Hux will drive you back into town and you will be free to go. Your body will revert back to its natural alpha state by then.”

At that moment, Hux came into the room, this time without his rifle. 

“Hux will show you to your room.” The stern, red-haired man walked to the dining room doorway then turned, checking to see if Rey was following. She wasn’t. She was calculating her chances of survival if she were to make a break for it now. She was feeling quite ill though, and didn’t think she’d get very far.

“Off you go, Miss Rey, you’re going to need your sleep,” Kylo urged her.

Finally, Rey followed Hux out of the room. He led her up a grand, sweeping staircase and down a long hallway, stopping at a door that looked identical to all the others. He let her in then shut the door behind her. Rey heard the door click as it closed and knew that she was locked inside. Looking around, she saw she was in a plush, luxurious bedroom, complete with dark wood trim, a canopied bed, and heavy red curtains. She pulled the curtains aside to reveal thick metal bars that covered the windows.

On top of the bed were the promised supplies. Rey set them onto the chest that sat at the foot of the bed and climbed under the covers. The sheets were soft, the mattress comfortable, but she knew she wouldn’t sleep tonight. Her body was already buzzing with the need to run, and a strange, foreign warmth was heating in her lower belly. Rey closed her eyes and tried unsuccessfully to slow her racing pulse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the games begin!  
> Twitter: escape_2020_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: there is a bit of blood in this chapter.
> 
> I just made a twitter for fanfic stuff, so if you want to follow me there, it's @escape_2020_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @BerthaMason for beta-reading! <3

As promised, at dawn, Kylo’s henchman Hux unlocked the bedroom door to let Rey out for her first day of the “game”. She hadn’t slept much, kept awake most of the night by a dull cramping in her abdomen and a low fever, so she moved slowly, stuck in a groggy haze. 

Hux kept his rifle trained on Rey while she gathered her supplies, then nudged her with the barrel to direct her down the hallway. When they reached the front doors, he shoved Rey by her shoulder to throw her out onto the front steps.

“Go run and hide, little mutant, Kylo will come for you at dusk, and he will expect you to give him a good chase.” With that as his only parting words, Hux slammed the door in Rey’s face and turned the deadbolt to lock her out.

Rey turned to face away from the mansion and surveyed her surroundings. In the light of day, and without the scent of desperate omega hanging heavy in the air, it looked different than she had recalled. Kylo’s home was surrounded in dense shrubbery, pole-sized birches, and a few rusted-out cars. She was completely disoriented, having no idea from where she’d come the previous day. There were no sounds of cars to indicate any roads nearby, and even the air smelled crisp and fresh, not like the smoggy, polluted air from the factory town she’d hitchhiked into.

Rey had thought initially that she would use her lead time to escape back into town, but that didn’t seem possible anymore. As she walked down the marble steps and away from the mansion, she considered her options. She could stand her ground and fight, take her chances against a strong, clever alpha. Or, she could find somewhere to hide out for the next three days -- somewhere warm and clean, somewhere safe enough to raise her pups--. Rey stopped short in her tracks. The mansion was still in view and her brain was already turning on her. 

“Get  _ a hold _ of yourself, Rey!” she scolded herself. “You are  _ not _ an omega, so stop thinking like one.” She shook her head to clear away the intrusive thoughts. Rey didn’t need to find a den for some hypothetical pups, she needed to find a place that would keep her hidden so she might live to see another day. The last participant of this “game” had bled out before the end of her three days. Rey wasn’t sure which fate was worse - losing the game - having her body claimed and invaded by Kylo - or simply dying. The only real option was to evade and survive -- to win.

Rey decided to spend the daylight hours laying out an intricate trail; she would lead Kylo on a wild goose chase. First, though, she needed to get far away from the mansion. Rey broke into a run without any further thought, no direction in mind. Unfortunately, the ground was littered with dismembered machine parts that were camouflaged beneath the scrubby undergrowth. She had to move carefully otherwise she could sprain an ankle and obliterate her chances of ever getting free. 

After jogging for nearly an hour, Rey slowed to catch her breath and massage the stitch in her side. The air was a cool seventy degrees, but the physical exertion had sweat trickling down her spine and between her breasts. She brought a hand to her forehead and felt that she was still running a fever. Kylo had said she was going into heat, but that could take days and Rey had no idea what symptoms she would have over that period of time. She would just have to take it as it came. 

Rey dug through her backpack for her canteen of water and found that it had settled to the bottom of the pack. As she pulled it out, sifting through tins of preserved food, she found that she had also packed a small hand towel. She didn’t remember putting it in the bag, but it must have been in the stack of clothes she’d been provided. After taking a long pull from the canteen, she poured some water onto the towel to cool her skin with. 

Rey swiped the towel across her forehead first, cleaning away the sweat and bringing instant relief to the fever that burned her skin. She dragged it down the side of her face then across the back of her neck. She shivered when it passed over the swollen gland at her nape. She paused, then rubbed it again, enjoying the light, tingling sensation. Her mouth fell slightly agape as she gently palpated her mating gland. She automatically salivated when a zesty citrus scent filled her mouth. It was complex and slightly spicy, like a fresh slice of blood orange steeping in steaming Earl Grey tea; there was something warm and woody underneath the florally citrus, but she couldn’t quite make out the different notes. Rey closed her eyes to amplify her sense of smell and breathed in again deeply. As she did this, she sensed that the aroma was coming from the towel and brought it up to her face, keeping its contact with her skin for the whole journey from neck to nose. She inhaled, nearly tasting the flavors on her tongue.

When a crow suddenly squawked overhead, Rey’s eyes snapped open, pulling her from the trance into which she’d fallen. She ripped the towel away from her face like it was doused in acid and dangled it between two fingers at arm’s length. Had Kylo  _ scented _ her towel? Rey wasn’t sure when that could have happened, but she had no other explanation for the way her body was reacting to it. She stood still, stuck, as she considered what to do with it. If she packed it back into her backpack, Rey knew she wouldn’t be able to ignore Kylo’s pheromones, and they would inevitably cast a fog over her reasoning, slowing her down. On the other hand, if she chucked it as far as she could throw, which was probably not more than twenty feet, Kylo would find it and know she had been here.

Eventually, Rey chose to do neither. Instead, she dropped the towel and knelt down to start digging a hole with both hands, small bits of gravel lodging painfully under her nails. Thankfully, the previous day’s rain had softened the earth enough to make digging possible without a trowel. The hole was about twelve inches deep when Rey decided she didn’t have time to continue. She tucked the towel into its miniature grave, somewhat reluctantly, and filled the hole back in. She kicked some leaves and debris over the site for good measure, slapped her hands on her pants to clean them, and continued her aimless trek into the abandoned rail yard.

The sun was now high in the sky, so it was time to start setting a more convoluted trail. Rey had landed herself in the middle of an old intersection, the road crumbling and eroded beneath her feet. It looked like it was used for transporting goods from the warehouses to the train tracks, as she could see a few dilapidated buildings nearby, their roofs peeking over the low tree line. She figured the best way to leave a glaringly obvious trail was to follow Kylo’s lead and scent whatever she wanted him to find. Rey took a looping, zigzagging path to every object she could find, allowing the previous to lead her to the next. She rubbed her wrists along a pile of old tires as she walked around its circumference. Then, a yellow backhoe caught her eye, so she ran over to it and climbed into the cab, leaning back in the cracked leather seat to rub her mating gland on the headrest. Dropping her head to her right shoulder, she spotted a pile of, well,  _ junk _ \-- her specialty. 

Rey hopped out of the backhoe and headed for the small mountain of scrap metal parts. As she approached and her perspective changed, she could see that it was actually several small mountains with a maze-like footpath weaving between them. Rey started winding her way through, making sure to touch as much as she could. Just as she thought that running her fingers over sharp, rusty metal might not be her smartest idea, she felt a nick on one forearm. She stopped walking to take a look and found that it was actually a gash several inches long. Blood dripped steadily to the ground, leaving a small, but growing, puddle of bright red. Well, Kylo would certainly know she had come this way.

Very quickly, she started to become lightheaded and panicky. As her heart pumped adrenaline through her veins, she sensed her grasp on the situation waning. What Rey needed to do was quickly bandage the wound and then move on, but she was feeling weak, like she needed someone  _ else _ to care for her and make everything alright again. She sank down to the ground on shaky legs and started rifling through her backpack for something to staunch the blood flow, already wishing she hadn’t discarded her hand towel. It would have been perfect for this situation and its scent that she had cursed before would have calmed her racing heart. Were all omegas this easily spooked? As an alpha, this cut wouldn’t have fazed Rey in the slightest.

Fighting against her instinct to hole up and wait for a savior who would never come, Rey rolled the sleeve up on her injured arm and ripped the other sleeve away from her shirt at the shoulder seam. A tourniquet wasn’t necessary since the cut seemed to have missed any major veins, so she quickly wrapped the shirt sleeve around her arm, tugging tightly to provide pressure enough to close the wound. She remained seated on the ground after that, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. It was a terrifying prospect that she seemed to lose her usual quick wit when she was in danger, when she most needed a clear head. Rey suspected it was the heat taking a hold of her brain, so she forced herself to stand up and shake it off, unwilling to let herself succumb to her transformation.

Not too far from where she stood, maybe a quarter-mile away, was one of the old warehouses she had seen over the treeline. It was a massive building and probably at least ten stories high, so Rey decided it would serve as her hiding place. She had lost the zeal and energy she’d had at the start of the day. Whatever path she’d laid so far would have to do. 

As she walked over to the warehouse, the dull cramping she’d had the previous night returned, now slightly stronger. Rey grit her teeth and kept moving until she was standing in front of the building’s entrance. Like everything else in the rail yard, it was half grown over by weeds and young trees. Rey entered the building cautiously, eyeing what looked like an abandoned fire pit with crushed beer cans scattered around it. The concrete walls were covered in graffiti and draped with wiring fallen from the collapsing ceiling. Alarm bells rang in Rey’s head as she tiptoed in, doing her best to preserve the silence as though she were trespassing. She was well aware of the poor structural condition that the building was in; one wrong step and she could be crushed by a crumbling wall or fall through rotted floorboards and break her leg. The only upside to the disrepair was the sunlight that streamed into what would otherwise be a pitch-black space. By the looks of it, the electricity had long ceased to be functional, but Rey still moved with utmost care around any loose wiring on the off chance that it was still live.

Rey walked the length of the warehouse until she reached a metal staircase. She craned her neck to see where it ended, but the lighting wasn’t sufficient to tell if it went to the roof. There were still a few hours until Kylo would begin his pursuit, so she had time to explore and find the perfect hiding space. 

Rey started climbing the stairs, each tread a rickety metal grate that clanged and wobbled when she put her weight on it. She white-knuckled the railings, thankful for their presence, and kept her eyes front and center, determined not to look down through the stairs or to the empty space at her left, where one misstep would have her free falling to the ground level. By the time she reached the top of the staircase, she had counted twelve stories. The top level had steel checker plate flooring, so after stepping off the stairs, she didn’t have to see the long fall that potentially awaited her every time she looked down. 

The top floor was all one large room, cluttered by unidentifiable machinery and stacks of rotting wooden palettes. Looking up, Rey could see some damage to the roof, but rather than just bare crossbeams, there was a ceiling of sheet metal paneling that covered the supports. One of the machines - it looked like a huge lathe - was positioned in the far corner under an opening in the ceiling where a few metal panels had fallen off. Rey’s cramps were getting intense and she was in desperate need of a rest. After a quick mental calculation, she walked over to the lathe and clambered on top of it. She took off her backpack and tossed it into the opening in the ceiling. It clanged loudly when it landed inside, but Rey took it as a good sign when the panel didn’t come loose at the impact. Mind made up, she stood on her tiptoes and hoisted herself into the opening, injured arm throbbing at the effort. 

It was dark inside the ceiling, and it didn’t sound like she was sharing her space with any small animals, so Rey sighed a breath of relief; this would be the perfect place to hide, rest, and recharge. Before entering the warehouse, the sun had still been high in the sky but past its midday peak. Rey figured she had a few hours left until Kylo set out to find her, and she was in desperate need of some sleep after the previous night. She set her backpack in the corner and leaned against it so she was sitting up with her knees bent, feet framing the opening that she had climbed in through. If Kylo found her, Rey wanted easy access to the exit. She crossed her arms, dropped her chin to her chest, and promptly fell asleep.

Rey was startled awake by the echoing clang of heavy footfalls on metal.  _ The stairs -- he’s here _ . Rey stayed frozen where she was, afraid to make even the slightest sound that could give away her location. She was sitting in pitch black darkness -- true to his word, Kylo had waited until dusk to come after her. She should be disheartened that he had followed her trail so easily, but for some reason, she was...excited? No, that wasn’t quite right. She was filled with anxious anticipation, her back literally against a wall as she waited for the other shoe to drop. Her heart pounded as she listened to Kylo make his way, unhurried, up the stairs. Rey felt like she was suspended in molasses and Kylo was swimming towards her at an agonizing speed, time slowed to a dreamlike crawl.

As he got closer, his scent wafted up to her, and she wondered if he was going into rut as she descended into her heat. Again, she smelled a sweet citrus, like the spray that bursts from an orange as it’s being peeled. But now the woody scents she had detected on the towel were stronger, richer. It was warm and musky, too complex for Rey to make out at this distance and under the circumstances. But it floated around her in a cloud, and involuntarily, she felt herself clench, aware for the first time of a vast emptiness inside of her. She felt warmth between her legs and reached down to cup her mound. Rey ripped her hand away in horror and surprise. Her pants were saturated in what she could only guess was slick. She swallowed a pained cry; until now, her transformation hadn’t seemed entirely real, but she couldn’t turn a blind eye any longer. Rey brought her hand back between her legs and shivered as she slowly slid the heel of her palm down the seam of her pants. When her hand met the floor, she found that she was sitting in a small puddle -- she must have been steadily dripping slick for hours as she slept.

Rey was sitting so close to the opening in the ceiling, and with her legs splayed around it, that her hand disturbed the puddle enough to send a few drops to the metal floor below. Moments later, she heard Kylo reach the landing at the top of the stairs. Rey stayed stock still, afraid to move a muscle and send more of her arousal to the floor -- the tiny drips already there must be acting as a beacon, lighting Kylo’s way to her hiding place. 

Just as she’d predicted, Kylo started across the floor, heading directly for the corner that Rey was holed up in. She tried to hold her breath to keep silent, but she couldn’t help herself from taking long, deep inhales to drink in his intoxicating scent. Now that he was closer, the woodiness exploded into an enticing array of flavors -- cedar incense, pipe tobacco, and damp forest floor suffused her senses. Her mouth hung open to take it in, the sound of Kylo’s footsteps muffled by her pleasured haze.

It was the absence of his footfalls that brought Rey back down to Earth. She perked her ears and heard the floor creak, then a dull thud. In her mind’s eye, Kylo was kneeling down and swiping his finger through her slick. She heard a low, satisfied grunt rumble through his chest, followed by a light  _ pop _ . Had he  _ tasted _ it? Rey had to bite her lip to prevent a groan of her own from escaping. He was so close to finding her, she should be terrified, ready to fight for her life, but all she could think of was how perfectly Kylo’s knot would stretch her, bringing her to teeter over the precipice of pain. If she only just jumped down…

There was a light click, like the clasp on a metal case opening, then the flick of a lighter igniting. A harsh stream of cigarette smoke snaked up into Rey’s nose, snapping her out of her fantasy. Rey glanced down to see a small orange circle glowing, the embers only bright enough to illuminate Kylo’s lips and the tip of his nose. She watched him take a few long, leisurely draws before dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his shoe. Then, he just stood there. Rey could hear his calm breathing, and she wondered if he could hear her shallow pants.

After an excruciatingly long minute, he turned on his heel and walked back the way he had come. Rey didn’t take a full breath or relax in the slightest until she heard him reach the bottom of the stairs and leave the building. Even then, she didn’t move from her spot for the next twenty minutes. Her mind was racing, though, even as she sat immobile. Rey couldn’t fathom that Kylo was unaware of her presence. So why had he let her go? Didn’t he want to claim his prize? Soon, it dawned on her. Kylo was toying with her. He was enjoying the game too much to let it end on the first day. 

The further he moved away from her, the clearer Rey’s mind became. Kylo might be trying to bat her around like a cat with his mouse, but that would prove to be his downfall. Rey had been granted another day and she wasn’t going to waste it. She stretched her stiff limbs and jumped out of the warehouse ceiling. Kylo had handicapped her, that much was true, but Rey still had a lot of fight left in her. It was clear that running and hiding was no longer a viable tactic -- it was time for her to play the offensive.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: @escape_2020_


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @BerthaMason for beta-reading! <3

As she had before, Rey first worked on putting some distance between her and Kylo. She would need to set a trap, that much she knew already, but she had to be far enough away to buy some time while he tracked her down. It was dark out, with only a crescent moon in the sky to light the way, but Rey’s eyes soon adjusted, and she moved nimbly through the night. Already, ideas were flying through her mind of how she could best Kylo at his own game. She knew she didn’t stand a chance against him in hand-to-hand combat, so she had to be more clever than that. What she needed to do was hold him captive long enough that she could find her way out of this wasteland and hitch a ride as far away as possible. 

Rey slowed her pace when she came to a wilder, more overgrown area of the rail yard. There were a few pieces of heavy machinery rusting in the tall grass, but other than that, there were just trees, shrubs, and a patchwork of openings where only weeds could survive, likely due to all of the oil that had seeped into the soil over the years. There were no buildings nearby, which made her feel somewhat vulnerable, but based on the lightening of the sky from black to inky blue, she had already used up too much time making her way here. Rey walked over to a patch of forested land that bordered a small field and set her pack down. If Kylo followed her trail, she would be able to see him coming out in the open before he reached her, which would give her enough time to ditch her plan and run.

Based on the color of the sky, Rey estimated that it was now early in the morning, maybe some time around 5:00 am. Given Kylo’s preference for hunting her at night, she guessed that she had the rest of the day to prepare her trap; it was a gamble, but one that she had no choice but to take. Rey decided to make a pitfall trap, which would hopefully imprison him underground long enough for her to get away. It would take all day though, especially without any proper tools. Rey took a minute to eat some of her food rations first, knowing she would need a lot of energy to complete this. But once she finished one tin, she found her hunger was not satisfied, only piqued. She wolfed down three more tins of preserved fish, peaches, and beans, surprising herself at her own voracious appetite. She would have eaten more, but she needed to reserve some for tomorrow in case her plan didn’t work.

Hunger somewhat sated, Rey set to work. Though she was small and couldn’t rely on brute strength like most alphas, she was lithe and resourceful. She quickly combed through the field in front of her, flitting between the heavy machinery that rested scattered throughout, until she found what she was looking for: a strong, curved piece of metal — a useless scrap to anyone else, but a tool to Rey. Metal in hand, she returned to the forest edge to begin digging.

She staked out four corners, got down on her knees, and began scraping away at the surface of the earth. It was tedious, tiring work, and by the time the sun was fully up, Rey was sweating through her clothes from the effort. With no one around, she figured it was safe to take off her shirt — she was still wearing a sports bra after all. The cool air was so refreshing though, she had to take off her pants too. She struggled out of them, hopping on one foot and almost falling over as she tried to strip them away without removing her shoes. When she was finally free of them, a gentle breeze drifted by and chilled the slick that was slowly coating her inner thighs in a clear gloss; she tried her best to ignore it. Rey had too much work today to entertain alleviating the symptoms of her heat, though they seemed to be steadily intensifying. 

“I just have to make it through another 36 hours and it will all go away,” she told herself. 36 hours simultaneously seemed like nothing at all and all of eternity. When she was far from Kylo, it seemed possible that she could just grit her teeth and power through, but when he was near… she stopped that train of thought when she felt a cramp seize her abdomen and send a rivulet of slick through the thin cotton of her panties. She couldn’t think about him, couldn’t entertain how good it would feel to have the weight of his body over hers, his teeth on her gland, his cock filling her to the brim with cum… “ _ Jesus _ , Rey, cut it out,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head. She doubled her efforts in digging to quiet the omega that rambled incessantly in her brain. She focused instead on the ache in her muscles and the gravel digging into her knees — anything to keep her heat at bay. 

By midday, the sun was beating hot on the back of her neck, and her arms trembled whenever she stopped digging, but she had made good progress — already almost three feet deep. That wasn’t good enough though; she didn’t want Kylo to simply twist an ankle. She wanted him trapped. That meant the pit had to be at least six feet deep. She grimaced at the thought that she might be digging a man’s grave, putting him six feet underground. But it had to be done; it was his life or hers, and she still had enough sense to fight for her own life.

When the pit was another foot deeper, Rey tied her discarded clothes into a rope of sorts and secured one end to a tree, draping the other end into the hole so that she could climb out after finishing. It fell just short of the length she needed, so she shrugged and stripped off her bra and panties, tying them to the end of her shirt sleeve.  _ No point in modesty when I’m alone in the middle of nowhere _ , she rationalized to herself. But if she was honest, even the small amount of clothing was starting to irritate her skin. She wasn’t sure if it was from her heat or the manual labor, but she needed to be freed from the confines of her clothes if she was going to make it through the rest of the day. She ignored the tingle that ran down her spine when she thought about Kylo finding her in such a state.  _ Alpha will like that I’ve prepared for him. Alpha will be pleased _ , she mused, rubbing the inside of her wrist along the nape of her neck. This time, Rey’s thoughts didn’t jump out to her as a red flag; the drugs in her system were burrowing into the depths of her brain and beginning the rewiring process without her notice.

For the rest of the day, Rey dug her pit mindlessly, glancing up every so often to see the sun’s position. As the evening drew nearer, dark clouds began to drift across the horizon towards her. She could sense a storm was brewing and finished digging over the next hour so that she could find shelter. Once the pit was completed at a depth of just over six feet, Rey hoisted herself out and gathered a pile of branches and long bundles of grass to conceal the opening. But before covering it, she tossed her panties, saturated in slick, into the pit to act as bait — hopefully her scent was strong enough on them to draw Kylo in.

With the sky dim and dusky, Rey stuffed her clothes into her backpack and scanned the forest edge for a tree to hide in. When she found one with wide, low branches and enough leaf cover to camouflage herself, she climbed up and began her watch, eyes anxiously flitting across the land for signs of movement that would warn her of Kylo’s approach.

As the hours passed by, Rey’s confidence began to wane. What if he didn’t follow her trail? What if he was just teasing her and didn’t come at all tonight? She gnawed at her cuticles while she cycled through all of the possible reasons Kylo hadn’t come to find her yet. What if he didn’t want her anymore? For some reason, that was the most unsettling thought of all. But just as it passed through her head, she noticed movement on the far side of the field. It was just a flicker, black on a near-black backdrop, but then, there it was again, and soon, the silhouette of a man took shape in the distance.

Rey said a silent prayer and tried to quiet the butterflies in her stomach. Before long, she could smell him again and had to hold herself back from jumping out of the tree and running towards him.  _ Stay put, be patient _ , she reminded herself.  _ You’re not in your right mind _ . 

As he drew closer, she could see he had something bulky with him, like a duffel bag, but Rey didn’t dare get a better look for fear of being spotted. He was making a beeline for her pitfall trap, though; if all went according to plan, she would be running for her life in the next several minutes. And then she heard it: a crash and a thud; Kylo had fallen into the pit. Rey had been expecting more of a struggle, maybe some angry shouts; his fall had been suspiciously quick and clean. It had worked though. Rey wanted to run over and check the trap  _ now _ , but she waited a few minutes for good measure to see what he would do.

There was the sound of a zipper and then some rustling. Rey was getting impatient. Just as she was about to look and see what was going on, she heard his boots hit gravel: he’d gotten out. She covered her mouth and nose to suppress a cry of anguish —  _ it didn’t work. _

“I’ve left you a little surprise, Omega. I’m sure you’ll find it to your liking.” There was a pause, and Rey held her breath while she listened, wide-eyed. “I know you’re out there, little Rey. I can smell you dripping for me. Don’t worry though; it won’t be long before I have you, before I make you mine. I need to attend to some business first, but enjoy your gifts in the meantime. And thank you for the souvenir, it’s  _ exquisite _ ,” he growled, breathing through the fabric of her panties. Then, he left.

Rey listened to Kylo’s retreating footsteps as she had yesterday. She wanted to go after him and shout, “No,  _ please _ , wait for me, Alpha!” But she bit down on her fist to stifle the urge. When she felt it was safe to come down from her hiding place, Rey made her way over to the pit. Sure enough, the grass and branch covering had been disturbed. Leaning over the edge, Rey could see that Kylo had put something inside, but from her vantage point, it was just a dark, nondescript lump. She could, however, smell something incredibly enticing. Drawn to it like a magnet, Rey followed the scents of warm amber wood and sweet tobacco smoke and dropped into the pit, using her makeshift rope from earlier. There, stacked in one corner, she found a pile of soft, flannel blankets. She snatched one off the top and pressed it to her face, breathing in deeply. She instantly felt high on it. The scents elicited feelings of comfort and security, sensations that she wasn’t entirely familiar with. She imagined sitting on the lap of her father, a man whose face she couldn’t conjure, as he smoked pipe tobacco and read aloud to her. The blanket smelled like a home she’d never had, a beautiful, sweet fantasy. She inhaled again, and despite her heat, she felt an instinctual need to burrow into the warmth. 

Reluctantly, Rey pulled her face away and looked at the rest of the stack greedily. Without thinking, she tore into it and began arranging the blankets in the corner of the pit, taking special care to make sure they were placed just so. When she was satisfied, she curled up in the pile, the first blanket still in one hand. Surrounded by the warm, smoky scents, Rey felt herself slipping into a crazed state. She balled up the blanket in her hand and wedged it between her legs, then laid down on her stomach so that her hips were raised in the air. Face pressed into the soft fabric, she began to grind back and forth, seeking friction on her clit. An orgasm swelled in her core, then quickly crashed over her, terribly unsatisfying. Her walls were squeezing around nothing; it felt wrong.

Frustrated, Rey sat up and leaned her back against the corner, this time bringing the blanket to rub against the gland at the nape of her neck, mixing their pheromones. She brought her other hand between her legs and shoved two fingers in, finding little resistance. Thrusting her fingers quickly and rocking her palm against her clit, Rey came to another quick orgasm, stuffing a third finger in as it washed over her. It was useless though; Rey let out an anguished cry, then began sobbing. She knew what she needed, and even worse, she knew who she wanted it from. Unwittingly, Rey had built herself a nest when she had meant to create a trap. Now, sitting in a pile of blankets scented by Kylo, slick dribbling out of her cunt and pooling on the ground in front of her, Rey was on the verge of hysteria. She knew now, she  _ needed _ Kylo’s knot. She needed it to ease the cramps, needed it to fill the cavernous emptiness between her hips, and most of all, she needed it from  _ her  _ alpha — nothing less would do. Tears streamed down her face as she thought about how comforting Kylo’s embrace would feel right now, how secure she would feel locked onto his knot, full of his cum. 

Thunder cracked overhead, and the first cold, heavy drops of rain splashed onto Rey’s face. It soothed her skin like aloe on a burn, but as her temperature dropped slightly and the rain picked up, she realized she couldn’t stay there any longer. She also couldn’t very well bring the whole nest with her, but she grabbed the blanket that she’d scented and climbed out of the pit. She needed to find somewhere warm and safe to wait for Kylo’s return. He’d said he was coming back, so she had no choice but to trust him; her Alpha would take care of her. 

Rey stuffed the blanket into her backpack and started walking, sticking to the edges of the field to avoid the danger of lightning strikes. She wore nothing but her boots, and as the rain poured over her, she felt  _ alive _ . In her heat, she only felt the eager anticipation of building a proper nest, finally mating, and raising her pups. Life as an alpha was just a tiny blip on the edges of her memory, more dream than reality at this point. All that mattered now was feeling the sweet stretch of her Alpha’s knot. She would walk to the ends of the earth for it, to bow her head, raise her hips, and submit to her mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rey is starting to spiral! If you liked the chapter, please let me know below <3
> 
> Twitter: escape_2020_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you [BerthaMason](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerthaMason/pseuds/BerthaMason) for beta-reading! <3

With the morning light came some clarity of mind. The rain had all but stopped and the sky was lightening from blue to pink. Rey’s heat was still ravaging her body, so she carried on walking through the vast rail yard property wearing only her shoes. By full sun-up, the rain water had evaporated from her skin, leaving it cool and dry, calming her fever slightly. Travel was becoming difficult though, her muscles aching for a rest and the steady trickle of slick dripping down her inner thighs slowly dehydrating her.

But Rey only had to hold on for one more day; by midnight, she would meet her fate one way or another. She still had some fight left, her alpha brain just barely hanging on. At the forefront of her mind were thoughts of nesting and mating and raising pups with the man she had met mere days ago, but deep down, she knew that she couldn’t go down without a fight. This was her last day to beat Kylo at his own game, and she was going to give it her all.

By midday, Rey realized she had wandered back to the train tracks that ran through the center of the rail yard. It wasn’t the exact place she had started, but it helped her find her bearings somewhat. In the distance, she could see an old train sitting on the tracks in disuse. Something about it drew Rey in, and she mindlessly wandered over to the first car, stumbling over the wooden tracks in her exhaustion. As she approached it, she noticed that the cars were outfitted for passengers, not cargo. She had a fleeting thought of how odd this was on an industrial rail yard, but didn’t think any further on it when she stepped inside and saw what good condition it was in. 

The upholstery on the seats was fully intact, there didn’t look to be any water damage — in fact, it looked to be perfectly functional. Rey wondered whether this train had been on the tracks when she first arrived three days ago, but she had difficulty conjuring the details of life before her heat had been induced. It all seemed like a blur, and all she could focus on now was the ‘here and now’. And right now, a row of three seats was looking like a perfectly good bed.

Even the thought of sleep made Rey drowsier, but she didn’t trust herself to wake up in time to confront Kylo. Before laying her head down, she needed to set one final trap. Groaning and turning back to the train’s entrance, Rey tore herself away from the plush seats and their promise of a deep sleep.

Outside once more, Rey took stock of her surroundings. She needed to come up with a way to stop Kylo. The stakes were higher than ever — if he caught her tonight, life as she knew it was over. He was going to claim her and make her new designation permanent. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought, though she couldn’t tell if it was from fear or excitement. 

Scanning her surroundings, Rey noticed something peculiar. There were power lines running parallel to the tracks on either side, and mounted at the top of each post was a spotlight. She wouldn’t have looked twice if she hadn’t seen one of the light bulbs flickering; the lines were still live. 

The gears slowly started turning in Rey’s mind. There were live wires nearby and plenty of standing water from the thunderstorm. Maybe she had a real chance of survival. If she could rig up the wires to suspend over a deep puddle, she might be able to end Kylo’s pursuit — permanently. 

Excited at the prospects of this trap, Rey set to work locating severed wires from the powerlines. When she found one, dangerously sparking at its ends, she climbed the little peg ladder on the metal post to retrieve it. Careful to only touch the plastic coating and not the frayed copper poking out of the end, Rey pulled the wire back down with her to the ground. When her shoe made contact with the gravel, she heard a small splash and realized she would have to navigate the flooded rail yard with a live wire in hand. It was her last chance at escape though, so, taking a steadying breath, Rey began crossing the tracks, the wires held at arm’s length in front of her.

When she was halfway back to the train, a strong cramp coursed through her abdomen, causing her to bend over in pain as her knees buckled. When the muscle contractions eased, fresh slick coating her inner thighs and trailing down to her ankles, Rey opened her eyes to see the exposed wires dangling inches from a puddle. Eyes wide, she bolted upright, heart hammering at the close call. 

Rey walked the rest of the distance back to the train fully alert, taking the carefullest of steps and pushing through her pain and physical exhaustion. She pushed the folding door of the front passenger car halfway open, slipped inside, then balanced the wire atop the door. Rey’s hope was that Kylo would follow her to the train, push the door open, and cause the live wires to fall at his feet onto the saturated ground. With any luck, that would spell his end and Rey would be free to go on her way.

She couldn’t think any deeper on her plan because she was quickly fading; she needed some rest before Kylo came for her. Rey walked to the back row of seats in the train car and laid down across the cushions; the last thing she saw before sleep overcame her was the flickering bulb in the distance.

Rey awoke to the sweet, spicy scent of Kylo wafting in the air. Even in sleep, she’d been triggered by the aromas to bring her hand between her legs. When she blinked her eyes open, she watched a long, clear strand of slick stretch between her fingers and thighs as she pulled her hand away. She rubbed the sleep away from her eyes with the heel of her clean hand, then sat up to assess the situation.

It was pitch black — she had slept through the whole day and had no idea of the time, only that it must be late because Kylo was near. She stood on shaky legs and pulled her blanket out of her backpack to clean away the excess slick. Inhaling deeply, Rey drank in his scent to the point of intoxication. Absentmindedly, she continued rubbing the blanket between her legs, gliding it over her clit until she had to grab the seat back for support.

Only the sound of boots on gravel pulled her from the trance that she’d fallen into. Placing the blanket back onto the train seat, Rey quietly crept forward to the front of the car; she didn’t notice that the light outside had gone dark.

Crouching low two rows from the front of the train car, Rey listened as Kylo’s steps gradually got louder. She had expected a feeling of triumph as her plans were finally coming to fruition after three long days, but all she felt was mounting anxiety. With every step Kylo took, Rey’s chest constricted tighter and her pulse quickened. Soon, she was hyperventilating, mind racing with thoughts of her alpha in pain. He was supposed to be her mate, the father of her pups, her provider and protector, and yet here she was, cowering in fear as she plotted his death. 

Rey’s legs felt tensed like springs, ready to jump up and stop Kylo from meeting his fate. When she could hear his boots splashing in the water just outside of the train door, and his pheromones were overwhelming her senses, Rey made a split second decision and bounded for the door. In her haste, she threw the door open and watched in horror as the wire fell, almost in slow motion, to land in the dark pool of water. 

Time stood still as Rey made eye contact with Kylo for the first time since the game had started. It was dark, but she could see the glint of his eyes in the moonlight and feel the arousal rolling off of him in heady waves; Rey staggered back a step as it hit her. Slowly, her brain processed that her trap had failed — Kylo was still alive. Her brow furrowed in confusion — he was alive and she was in danger.

Rey took another half-step backwards as Kylo took one forward, his boot coming down directly on top of the wires. Her mouth fell open wordlessly, the question still forming in her mind.

“Did you think I wouldn’t cut the power, little one?” Rey’s pupils dilated at the pet name, despite the fact that she was sure he’d said it to mock her. “You were trying to hurt me? Your alpha?” He said it with exaggerated hurt in his tone, one hand over his heart like he was deeply offended.

“I… I… my alpha…” Rey mumbled, weakly repeating him. 

The next step Kylo took brought him onto the train. Now standing on equal ground, he towered over Rey. His presence seemed to fill the whole car, and in a way, it did; Rey was swimming in a cloud of pheromones, nearly drowning in it, and Kylo blocked her exit. 

“You shouldn’t have done that, Rey.” He took another step forward so that he stood only a few feet away. His eyes flicked quickly over the length of her body, reminding her that she was fully nude, save for her muddy shoes. 

“I wanted our first time to be nice, but it seems I’m going to have to discipline you for this poor behavior.” Rey watched his shoulders rising and falling with his deep inhales, and she realized that she was having an effect on him as well. But rather than becoming weaker and more compliant like her, he was growing feral and impatient, barely maintaining his composure. 

Noticing his instability, Rey realized she had one last chance to get away, one last chance for him to slip up. Without further thought, she turned and sprinted for the back of the train, slowing only to grab her backpack and blanket from the seat she’d been sleeping on. It couldn’t be long until midnight and her alpha state was restored, so all she had to do was outrun Kylo until then. 

Rey refused to turn around and see how close on her heels he was, she just focused on putting one foot in front of the other as quickly as possible. The train cars flew by in a blur, endless rows of seats making it difficult to discern how far she had run. 

At last, Rey reached the end of the last train car. It looked different from the other cars, with only a few seats and a cylindrical boiler humming in the corner. Against the back wall was an arched, metal hatch with a rusty silver wheel securing it shut. Rey rushed over to open it, shocked that she hadn’t been caught yet.

She grasped the wheel with both hands, but it wouldn’t turn. Panic starting to rise, Rey threw all of her weight into turning the wheel, but even as the rough, corroded metal bit into her palms, it didn’t budge. 

Rey could hear Kylo’s boots clicking against the train floors, steadily making his way towards her. Tears started to cloud her vision as she slowly accepted her fate. Maybe if she hadn’t cut her arm in the junkyard, or maybe if she’d eaten more over the past few days, maybe then she would have the strength to open the door, even in the throws of her heat. 

But none of that seemed to matter as Kylo closed in on her. Rey beat her fists against the door in anguish, cursing herself for every slip-up she’d made in the last 72-hours. With every step closer that Kylo got, the fight slowly drained from her body. She slumped down against the hatch and dug the filthy, slick-stained blanket out of her backpack for some comfort in her last moments as an alpha. Rey clutched it tightly and drew her knees up to her chest, trying to make herself as small as possible. 

Kylo found her like that: trembling, back against the wall, and a small pool of slick collecting between her legs as evidence of her involuntary arousal. Kylo looked half an animal, closing in on his prey like the predator that he was. 

“At last, omega, you’re mine.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's nowhere left for Rey to run now...you know what that means...
> 
> Twitter: escape_2020_


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